My Football Facts & Stats | All-Time Premier League Statistics All-Time Top 100 Premier League goalscorers from Season 1992-93 to 2016-17. PREMIER LEAGUE Despite significant European success during the 1970s, the 1980s had marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition following the events at Heysel in 1985. The Football League First Division, which had been the top level of English football since 1888, was well behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad. However, by the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse; England had been successful in the 1990 FIFA World Cup , reaching the semi-finals. UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990.

The Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January of that year. Television money had also become much more important; the Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but when that deal was renewed in 1988, the price rose to £44m over four years. The 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league; ten clubs threatened to leave and form a "super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay. As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the growing influx of money being pumped into the sport. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.

The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. This was considered necessary so that English clubs could once again compete with and beat the best of Europe, while attracting the best talent in the world, something which in 1991 seemed practically unthinkable. In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three.There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions. The number of clubs in the Premier League decreased from 22 in 1992-93 to just 20 three seasons later.

It has remained at 20 clubs since season 1995-96. Only five of those 40 clubs have won the Premier League title - Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Blackburn & manchester City. The 2009-10 Premier League title was won by Chelsea by one point from Manchester United. Chelsea's goals scored total of 103 was the highest in the Top Flight of English Football since the Tottenham Hotspur 'double-winning' team of 1960-61. Arsenal finished in third place with Tottenham Hotspur recording their first Top Four finish of the Premier League Era to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after a gap of 49 years away from Europe's elite competition. A new regulation introduced for the 2010-11 season is that every Premier League club must name a maximum squad of 25 players and these, together with an unlimited number of players 21 years old or younger, will be the only ones allowed to participate until the January 2011 transfer window.

Premier League founder members Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City returned to the competition for season 2011-12 and were joined by Swansea City, who became the 46th club to participate and the first from Wales. Cardiff City bercame the second Welsh club to reach the Premier League in 2013-14 but they were relegated at the end of the season. Premier League betting is very popular: make your football bets at titanbet.com The Premier League : History : Information More DVD's from Amazon.co.uk The Premier League (officially known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons, colloquially known as The Premiership), is an English professional league for football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The Premier League is currently contested by 20 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League, English football's governing body. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 games each.

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 and the first games were played on 15 August that year, following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal; The Football League had served as England and Wales' primary football competition since 1888. Since then, the Premier League has become the world's most watched sporting league[1] and the most lucrative football league, with cumulative club revenues of around ï¿½1.4 billion.[2] The league is a corporation with the 20 clubs acting as shareholders. A total of 40 clubs have competed in the Premier League, but only four have won the title: Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, and Chelsea. The current Premier League champions are Manchester United, who won their ninth title in the 2006ï¿½07 season, the most of any Premier League team. History Origins The 1980s had marked a low point for English football.

Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition following the events at Heysel in 1985.[3] The Football League First Division, which had been the top level of English football since 1888, was well behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad.[4] However, by the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse; England had been successful in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, reaching the semi-finals.

UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990 and the Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums, was published in January of that year.[5] Television money had also become much more important; the Football League received ï¿½6.3million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but when that deal was renewed in 1988, the price rose to ï¿½44m over four years.[6] The 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league; ten clubs threatened to leave and form a "super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay.[7] As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the growing influx of money being pumped into the sport. More Football-Soccer From Amazon.co.uk Foundation In the 1991 close season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall.

The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.[8] The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. This was considered necessary so that English clubs could once again compete with and beat the best of Europe, while attracting the best talent in the world, something which in 1991 seemed practically unthinkable.[9] In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the then Football Association's headquarters in Lancaster Gate.[4] This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three.

There was no real change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions. Establishment As of 2007 there had been 15 completed seasons of the Premier League. The league held its first season in 1992ï¿½93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premiership goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2ï¿½1 win against Manchester United. Due to insistence by FIFA, the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007ï¿½08 season.

The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction.[10] Ultimately the 2007ï¿½08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.[11] Corporate structure The Premier League is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a Chairman, Chief Executive, and Board of Directors to oversee the daily operations of the league.[12] The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the Chairman and Chief Executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.[13] The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Forum, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients.

The European Club Forum is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Cup.[14] Competition format and sponsorship Competition There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position.

If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.[15] The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship and the top two teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving the third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place.[16] Qualification for European competitions The top four teams in the Premiership qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top two teams directly entering the group phase. The third and fourth placed teams enter the competition at the third qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. The fifth placed team automatically qualifies for the UEFA Cup, and the sixth and seventh placed teams can also qualify, depending on what happens in the two domestic cup competitions. If the FA Cup winners and runners-up both finish in the top five of the Premier League, the FA Cup's UEFA Cup spot goes to the sixth placed team in the League.

If the League Cup is won by a team that has already qualified for Europe, the League Cup's UEFA Cup spot also goes to the next highest placed team in the League (unlike the FA Cup spot, it is never transferred to the losing finalist).[17] The highest placed team that has not qualified for the UEFA Cup is allowed the opportunity to compete in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, provided they have applied to enter the Intertoto Cup in the next season. This provides another means of getting into the UEFA Cup, as winners of all eleven third-round Intertoto Cup ties qualify for that tournament. An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, when Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification position in that season's Premier League. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers.[18] UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions of the trophy qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing.

The Premiership was recently promoted to second in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five year period, behind Spain's La Liga and now above Italy's Serie A.[19] The top three leagues in Europe are currently allowed to enter four teams into the Champions League. The UEFA president Michel Platini, had proposed taking one place from the Premier League's quota, and allocating this place to the FA Cup winners. This proposal though, was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting.[20] In the same meeting that Platini's suggestion that FA Cup winners should qualify for the Champion's League rather than the UEFA Cup was rejected, it was however agreed upon that the third-placed team in the Premier League would receive automatic qualification for the group stages, rather than entry into the Third Qualifying Round as at present.[21] Sponsorship Since 1993, the Premier League has been sponsored. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name.

The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition: 1993ï¿½2001: Carling (FA Carling Premiership) 2001ï¿½2004: Barclaycard (Barclaycard Premiership) 2004ï¿½2010: Barclays (Barclays Premiership (2004ï¿½2007) then Barclays Premier League (2007ï¿½2010))[22] Finances The Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, with total club revenues of over ï¿½1.4 billion in 2005ï¿½06 season according to Deloitte, 40% above its nearest competitor: Italy's Serie A.[23] Revenues will increase to approximately ï¿½1.8 billion in the 2007ï¿½08 season,[24] when new media rights deals start. Based on November 2007 exchange rates, ï¿½1.8 billion converts to a gross annual league revenue of about US$3.7 billion.

For the past few seasons, the Premier League's gross revenue (ï¿½1.4bn) has been the fourth highest for any sports league worldwide, behind the annual revenues of the three most popular North American major sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association), but ahead of the National Hockey League. In terms of world football, the Premier League clubs are some of the richest in the world. Deloitte, who annually release figures on club revenues through its "Football Money League", listed eight Premier League clubs in the top 20 for the 2005ï¿½06 season.[25] No other league has more than four clubs in this table, and while La Liga rivals Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona are currently ranked #1 and #2, no other Spanish clubs are listed in the top 20. Premier League teams have dominated the list for many years, and even topped the list for almost a decade until the 2004ï¿½05 season.

After the Premier League's new TV deal comes into effect, the league-wide increase in revenues is expected to increase the Premier League clubs' standing in the list, and there is a possibility that a Premier League club will be top of the list.[25][26] Another significant source of regular income for Premier League clubs remains their revenue from stadium attendances, which, with the 2005ï¿½06 average attendance of 34,364 for league matches, is the fourth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world, ahead of Serie A and La Liga, but behind the German Bundesliga.

This represents an increase of over 60% from the average attendance of 21,126 recorded in the league's first season (1992ï¿½93).[27] However, during the 1992ï¿½93 season the capacities of most stadiums were reduced as clubs replaced terraces with seats in order to meet the Taylor Report's 1994ï¿½95 deadline for all-seater stadiums.[28][29] The 2005ï¿½06 figure, however, is lower than the Premier League's record average attendance of 35,464, set during the 2002ï¿½03 season.[30] Media coverage United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The money from television rights has been vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football.

However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar.[6] The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some European Leagues, including Serie A and La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs. The money is divided into three parts:[31] half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs.

The first Sky television rights agreement was worth ï¿½191 million over five seasons.[32] The next contract, negotiated to start from the 1997ï¿½98 season, rose to ï¿½670 million over four seasons.[32] The third contract was a ï¿½1.024 billion deal with BSkyB for the three seasons from 2004ï¿½05 to 2006ï¿½07. The league brought in ï¿½320 million from the sale of its international rights for the three-year period from 2004ï¿½05 to 2006ï¿½07. It sold the rights itself on a territory-by-territory basis.[33] Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company.

Sky and Setanta paid a total of ï¿½1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth. Setanta also hold rights to a live 3 pm match solely for Republic of Ireland viewers. The BBC has retained the rights to show highlights for the same three seasons (on Match of the Day) for ï¿½171.6 million, a 63% increase on the ï¿½105 million it paid for the previous three year period.[34] Radio Telefï¿½s ï¿½ireann broadcast the highlights in Ireland.

Sky and BT have agreed to jointly pay ï¿½84.3 million for delayed television rights to 242 games (that is the right to broadcast them in full on television and over the internet) in most cases for a period of 50 hours after 10 pm on matchday.[35] Overseas television rights fetched ï¿½625 million, nearly double the previous contract.[36] The total raised from these deals is more than ï¿½2.7 billion, giving Premiership clubs an average media income from league games of ï¿½45 million a year from 2007 to 2010. They also receive smaller amounts from media rights for the domestic cups and in some cases substantial amounts from media rights for European matches. The TV rights agreement between the Premier League and Sky has faced accusations of being a cartel, and a number of court cases have arisen as a result.

An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading in 2002 found BSkyB to be dominant within the pay TV sports market, but concluded that there were insufficient grounds for the claim that BSkyB had abused its dominant position.[37] In July 1999 the Premier League's method of selling rights collectively for all member clubs was investigated by the UK Restrictive Practices Court, who concluded that the agreement was not contrary to the public interest.[38] Worldwide Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over half a billion people in 202 countries,[39] generally on networks owned and/or controlled by NewsCorp, which owns BSkyB and thus the primary UK and Ireland TV rights. In the United States coverage is shared between Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports North America; NewsCorp sometimes buy pitch-side advertising boards with the Fox Soccer Channel logo replacing that of Sky.

The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely distributed sports programme.[40] In the People's Republic of China, matches attract television audiences between 100 million and 360 million, more than any other foreign sport.[41] Due to this popularity, the league has held three pre-season tournaments in Asia, the only Premier League affiliated tournaments ever to have been held outside England. In July 2003, the FA Premier League Asia Cup was held in Malaysia, featuring three Premiership clubs, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Birmingham City, and the Malaysia national team.[42] In 2005 the Asia Trophy featured a similar format, held in Thailand and featuring the Thailand national team competing against three English clubs ï¿½ Everton, Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers, the latter of whom won the trophy.[43] In 2007, the FA Premier League Asia Cup took place in Hong Kong, to be renamed the Barclays Asia Trophy and featured Liverpool, Portsmouth, Fulham and the Hong Kong FA Cup winning team, South China. The FA has faced difficulty fighting internet copyright infringement.

In an effort to stop the broadcasting of streams of live games on the net they have hired NetResult, a company that specializes on protecting trademark rights online. The BBC reported that NetResult, on behalf of the Premier League, emailed a warning to 101greatgoals.blogspot.com, an independent website that links to youtube videos, that forced its temporary closure.[44] Criticisms Widening gap between lower leagues One of the main criticisms leveled at the Premier League is the increasing gulf between the Premiership and the Football League. Since its split with the Football League, many established clubs in the Premier League have managed to distance themselves from their counterparts in lower leagues. Owing in large part to the disparity in revenue from television rights between the leagues,[45] many newly promoted teams have found it difficult to avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League. In every season except 2001ï¿½02 (Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham) at least one Premier League newcomer has been relegated back to the Football League.

In 1997ï¿½98 all three promoted clubs were relegated at the end of the season.[46] The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Starting with the 2006ï¿½07 season, these payments are in the amount of ï¿½6.5 million over the club's first two seasons in lower leagues, although this is set to rise to ï¿½11.2 million per year for clubs relegated in 2007ï¿½2008.[45] Designed to help teams adjust to the loss of television revenues (the average Premier League team receives ï¿½45 million while the average Football League Championship club receives ï¿½1 million[45]), critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premiership and those that have not,[47] leading to the common occurrence of teams "bouncing back" soon after their relegation.

"Big Four" dominance Another major criticism is the development of the so-called, "Big Four" clubs.[48] In the past 12 seasons only three different clubs have won the Premier League title ï¿½ Manchester United (seven times), Arsenal (three times) and Chelsea (twice). Blackburn Rovers are the only other team to have won the title in the Premier League's history. In addition, Liverpool, while without an English league title since the pre-Premier League era, have not finished lower than fifth since 1999, and won the Champions League in 2005.[49] In recent years, the success of these clubs has led to these four teams being increasingly referred to as the "Big Four". This developed with Chelsea's rise in status after their takeover by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2003, which has led to multiple league and cup successes. The Big Four clubs currently receive the benefits of Champions League qualification.

The benefits include increased revenue and this has widened the gap between the Big Four clubs and the rest of the Premiership.[48] Premier League clubs A total of 40 clubs have played in the Premier League between 1992 and 2006. Two other clubs (Luton Town and Notts County) were signatories to the original agreement that created the Premier League, but were relegated prior to the inaugural Premiership season and have not yet returned to the top flight. For a list of all clubs past and present see List of FA Premier League clubs and an amalgamated table can be found at All-time FA Premier League table. For a list of winners and runners-up of the Premier League since its inception, and top scorers for each season, see English football champions. Seven clubs have been members of the Premiership for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.[50] Players Premier League clubs have almost complete freedom to sign whatever number and category of players they wish.

There is no team or individual salary cap, no squad size limit, no age restrictions other than those applied by general employment law, no restrictions on the overall number of foreign players, and few restrictions on individual foreign players ï¿½ all players with EU nationality, including those able to claim an EU passport through a parent or grandparent, are eligible to play, and top players from outside the EU are able to obtain UK work permits. The only area where the Premiership's player registration rules are more restrictive than those of some other football leagues, such as those of those of Belgium and Portugal, is that academy level non-EU players have little access to English football.[51] At the inception of the Premier League in 1992ï¿½93, just eleven players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches were 'foreign' (players hailing from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland).[52] By 2000ï¿½01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premiership was 36%. In the 2004ï¿½05 season the figure had increased to 45%.

On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up,[53] and on 14 February 2005 Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match.[54] No English manager has won the Premier League; the four managers to have won the title comprise two Scots (Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, nine wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win)), a Frenchman (Arsï¿½ne Wenger, Arsenal, three wins) and a Portuguese (Josï¿½ Mourinho, Chelsea, two wins).

In response to concerns that clubs were increasingly passing over young British players in favour of signing less-expensive foreign players, in 1999, the Home Office tightened its rules for granting work permits to players from countries outside of the European Union.[55] Currently a non-EU player applying for the permit must have played for his country in at least 75% of its competitive 'A' team matches for which he was available for selection during the previous two years, and his country must have averaged at least 70th place in the official FIFA world rankings over the previous two years. If a player does not meet those criteria, the club wishing to sign him may appeal if they believe that he is a special talent and "able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in the UK."[51] Over 260 foreign players compete in the league, and 101 players from England's domestic leagues competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the Premier League was the most represented league with more than eighty players in the competition, including 21 of the 23 players in England's squad.

As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League. In the first Premier League season the average player wage was ï¿½75,000 per year,[56] but subsequently rose by an average 20% per year for a decade,[57] peaking in the 2003ï¿½04 season, when the annual salary of the average Premier League player was ï¿½676,000.[58] The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition.

Prior to the start of the first Premier League season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a ï¿½3 million-plus transfer fee.[59] The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking ï¿½15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996.[59] This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the ï¿½18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand.[59] Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastiï¿½n Verï¿½n and Rio Ferdinand.[60][61] As of 2007, the current record holder is Andriy Shevchenko, who joined Chelsea from AC Milan in May 2006. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around ï¿½30 million.[62] Players in the Premier League can compete for the informal competitions of Goal of the Month and Goal of the Season. Other titles players compete for include the top-scorer for a season.

Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premiership goals with 260. Shearer finished among the top ten goal scorers in 10 out of his 14 seasons in the Premier League and won the top scorer title three times. During the 1995ï¿½96 season he became the first player to score 100 Premier League goals.[65] Since the first Premier League season in 1992ï¿½93, 11 different players have won or shared the top scorers title. Thierry Henry won his third consecutive and fourth overall scoring title by scoring 27 goals in the 2005ï¿½06 season. This surpassed Shearer's mark of three titles which he won consecutively from 1994ï¿½95 through 1996ï¿½97. Other multiple winners include Michael Owen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who have won two titles each. Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer hold the record for most goals in a season (34) ï¿½ for Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers respectively.

Cole's record came in the 1993ï¿½94 season, while Shearer's came in 1994ï¿½95, both of which were 42-game seasons. Shearer's mark of 31 goals in 1995ï¿½96 remains the highest total in a 38-game season.[66] Manchester United became the first team to have scored 1,000 goals in this league after Cristiano Ronaldo scored, in a 4ï¿½1 defeat by Middlesbrough, in the 2005ï¿½06 season, having been the first team to have conceded a Premiership goal following the League's inception. Arsenal are the only other team to have reached the 1,000 goal mark. The highest-scoring match to date in the Premiership occurred on 29 September 2007 when Portsmouth defeated Reading 7ï¿½4.[67] At the close of the 2006ï¿½07 season, only two players held the prestige of having scored in each of the 15 Premiership competitions.

These were Bolton Wanderers player/coach Gary Speed and Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs, both former captains of the Wales national football team.[68] Both players have scored in the 2007ï¿½08 season too. Women's Premier League The National Division of the FA Women's Premier League is the Premiership's female counterpart. Most of its clubs are affiliated with Premiership and Football League sides; however, teams are semi-professional; no professional teams have existed since Fulham returned to semi-pro status in 2003.[69] The league comprises 12 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Northern Division and Southern Division. The champions of each are promoted to the National Division, and the bottom two National Division clubs are relegated. Since forming in 1993 the Women's Premier League has been dominated by Arsenal, who have won nine of the fifteen league titles.[70] The women's game has a much lower profile than that of the Premier League, with Women's Premier League teams typically playing matches at grounds owned by non-league men's clubs.

References and Notes My Football Facts & Stats | Premier League by Seasons Premier League by Seasons 1992-93 to 2016-17 PREMIER LEAGUE Despite significant European success during the 1970s, the 1980s had marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition following the events at Heysel in 1985. The Football League First Division, which had been the top level of English football since 1888, was well behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad. However, by the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse; England had been successful in the 1990 FIFA World Cup , reaching the semi-finals. UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990.

The Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January of that year. Television money had also become much more important; the Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but when that deal was renewed in 1988, the price rose to £44m over four years. The 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league; ten clubs threatened to leave and form a "super league", but were eventually persuaded to stay. As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the country's top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the growing influx of money being pumped into the sport. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.

The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. This was considered necessary so that English clubs could once again compete with and beat the best of Europe, while attracting the best talent in the world, something which in 1991 seemed practically unthinkable. In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions. The number of clubs in the Premier League decreased from 22 in 1992-93 to just 20 three seasons later.

It has remained at 20 clubs since season 1995-96. There has been a total of 45 different clubs in the Premier League from 1992-93 to 2012-13 with seven clubs (Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur) being ever-present. Only four of those 40 clubs have won the Premier League title - Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers. The 2009-10 Premier League title was won by Chelsea on the last day of the season by one point from Manchester United. Chelsea's goals scored total of 103 was the highest in the Top Flight of English Football since the Tottenham Hotspur 'double-winning' team of 1960-61. Arsenal finished in third place with Tottenham Hotspur recording their first Top Four finish of the Premier League Era to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after a gap of 49 years away from Europe's elite competition. Harry Redknapp won the Manager of the Year award for his achievements with Spurs.

Portsmouth were the first club to be relegated and the 9 points deducted for going into administration certainly did their cause no favours. A new regulation introduced for the 2010-11 season is that every Premier League club must name a maximum squad of 25 players and these, together with an unlimited number of players 21 years old or younger, will be the only ones allowed to participate until the January 2011 transfer window. Premier League founder members Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City returned to the competition for season 2011-12 and were joined by Swansea City, who became the 45th club to participate and the first from Wales. All three clubs avoided relegation. Reading, Southampton and West Ham United all returned to the Premier League for season 2012-13, replacing Wolves, Bolton & Blackburn Rovers. Cardiff City became the 2nd Welsh club to play in the Premier League in 2013-14 and the 46th club overall. Hull City & Crystal Palace joined them. QPR, Reading & Wigan were relegated.

All the latest Premier League football scores, results and league tables from History of the English Premier League - SuperSport - Football History of the English Premier League William McGregor statue © Action Images What is now known as the English Premier League has its roots in an earlier league, called the Football League, which was originally founded in 1888. The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football. It was the top level football league in England from its foundation until 1992. Since 1995 it has had 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions, which are currently known as The Championship, League One and League Two. Promotion and relegation between these divisions is a central feature of the League and is further extended to allow the top Championship clubs to exchange places with the lowest placed clubs in the Premier League. A director of Aston Villa, William McGregor, was the first to set out to bring some order to a chaotic world where clubs arranged their own fixtures.

On March 2, 1888, he wrote to the committee of his own club, Aston Villa, as well as to those of Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion, suggesting the creation of a league competition that would provide a number of guaranteed fixtures for its member clubs each season. The first meeting was held at Anderson's Hotel in London on March 23, 1888, on the eve of the FA Cup Final. The Football League was formally created and named in Manchester at a further meeting on April 17 at the Royal Hotel. In 1992, the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League to take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal and on May 27, 1992, the Premier League as we know it today was formed. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three.

There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions. The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon. A total of 43 clubs have played in the Premier League from its inception in 1992 until the end of the 2009/10 season. Two other clubs (Luton Town and Notts County) were signatories to the original agreement that created the Premier League, but were relegated prior to the inaugural Premier League season and have not subsequently returned to the top flight. Seven clubs have been members of the Premier League for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.

Due to insistence by Fifa that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. On June 8, 2006, Fifa requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007/08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction. Ultimately, the 2007/08 season kicked off again with 20 teams. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007. FOREIGN PLAYERS At the inception of the Premier League in 1992/93, just 11 players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches were 'foreign' (players hailing from outside of the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland). By 2000/01, the number of foreign players participating in the Premier League was 36 per cent.

In the 2004/05 season the figure had increased to 45 per cent. On December 26, 1999, Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up, and on February 14, 2005, Arsenal were the first to name a completely foreign 16-man squad for a match. No English manager has won the Premier League; the five managers to have won the title comprise two Scots (Alex Ferguson (Manchester United, 11 wins) and Kenny Dalglish (Blackburn Rovers, one win), a Frenchman (Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, three wins), an Italian (Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea, one win), and a Portuguese (José Mourinho, Chelsea, two wins). TRANSFER FEES The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League season, Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million.

The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996. This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand. Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand. Chelsea broke the record in May 2006, when they signed Andriy Shevchenko, from AC Milan. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million. This was eclipsed by Manchester City's transfer of Robinho from Real Madrid on September 1, 2008 for £32.5 million. The Robinho transfer remains the largest ever paid by a Premier League club. The record transfer in the sport's history had a Premier League club on the selling end, with Manchester United accepting an £80 million bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

RECORDS David James holds the record for the most Premier League appearances, overtaking the previous record held by Gary Speed of 535 appearances in February 2009. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. SPONSORS The Premier League has been sponsored since 1993. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The table below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition: YEARS Barclays Premier League TELEVISION Television has played a major role in the history of the Premier League. The money from television rights has been vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to BSkyB in 1992 was at the time a radical decision, but one that has paid off. At the time pay television was an almost untested proposition in the UK market, as was charging fans to watch live televised football. However, a combination of Sky's strategy, the quality of Premier League football and the public's appetite for the game has seen the value of the Premier League's TV rights soar. The Premier League sells its television rights on a collective basis.

This is in contrast to some European Leagues, including Serie A and La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs. The money is divided into three parts: half is divided equally between the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting twenty times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this. The income from overseas rights is divided equally between the twenty clubs. Sky's monopoly was broken from August 2006 when Setanta Sports was awarded rights to show two out of the six packages of matches available. This occurred following an insistence by the European Commission that exclusive rights should not be sold to one television company. Sky and Setanta paid a total of £1.7 billion, a two-thirds increase which took many commentators by surprise as it had been widely assumed that the value of the rights had levelled off following many years of rapid growth.

On 22 June 2009, due to the troubles encountered by Setanta Sports after it failed to meet a final deadline over a £30 million payment to the Premier League, ESPN was awarded the two packages of UK rights containing a total of 46 matches that were available for the 2009/10 season as well as a package of 23 matches per season from 2010/11 to 2012/13. MATCH BALLS For the inaugural season of the Premier League, clubs were obliged to supply their own match balls, which were usually provided by the clubs' kit manufacturers. In 1993, the Premier League came to an agreement with Mitre for them to supply the league's teams with their match balls. Mitre supplied balls to the Premier League for seven years, starting with the Mitre Pro Max (1993–1995) and then the Mitre Ultimax (1995–2000). The 2000/01 season saw Nike take over as match ball supplier, introducing the Nike Geo Merlin ball, which had been used in the UEFA Champions League.

The Geo Merlin was used for four seasons before being replaced by the Nike Total 90 Aerow, which ran for another two seasons. The 2004/05 season also saw the introduction of a yellow "Hi-Vis" ball for use in the winter months. Next came the Nike Total 90 Aerow II, which featured an asymmetrical design to help players judge the flight and spin of the ball. For the 2008/09 season, the official ball of the Premier League was the Nike Total 90 Omni, which featured yet another pattern in dark red and yellow and a modified panel design, and was replaced by the Nike T90 Ascente for the 2009/10 season, with blue, yellow and orange trim, and for 2010/11 by the T90 TRACER, and will be electric blue, black and white trim.

TOP SCORERS IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE (PREMIER LEAGUE ONLY) PLAYER MORE GOALS Manchester United became the first team to have scored 1 000 goals in the league after Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 4–1 defeat of Middlesbrough in the 2005/06 season. Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are the only other teams to have reached the 1 000-goal mark. The highest-scoring match to date in the Premier League occurred on September 29, 2007, when Portsmouth beat Reading 7–4. Five goals is the record individual scoring total for a player in a single Premier League game, and as of November 2009, only three players had achieved this feat, Andy Cole first, followed by Alan Shearer and then Jermain Defoe. Only Ryan Giggs of Manchester United has scored in all 18 Premier League seasons.

Event Streaming English 1992 premier league Football - premiership 40 1992 Premier League 1992 was a significant year for English Football the English Football League 1st Division broke away from the football League renamed and rebranded as the Football Association Premier League. This new entity would have commercial independence from the rest of the Football League . Live top flight Football games would no longer be televised on terrestrial television with BSkyB winning the television rights for all live games, the BBC showing highlights on its popular Match of the Day program on a Saturday evening. What was the English Football League Division 2 became the English Football League Division 1. This marked the first time since the league's inaugural season in 1888 that the English Football League 1st Division would no longer be the top flight of football in England. Brian Deane made history on the opening day of the English Football Association Premier League 1992-1993 season scoring the very first Premier League goal for Sheffield United, who went on to beat Manchester United 2-1.

Teddy Sherringham would be the first televised goal scorer on BSkyB's first Sunday broadcast showing Nottingham Forrest beat Liverpool Football Club 1-0 at home. Eric Cantona, who the previous season has inspired Leeds United to the title winning the 1991/92 English Football League Division 1 championship, scored the very first Premier League Hat-trick, this was during Leeds United's 5-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 1992 Premiership Clubs Analysis During the first half of the season Norwich City showed much form inspired by former Manchester United striker Mark Robins who helped himself to six goals in six games for the unfancied Canaries'. By the end of September they were sitting top by 2 points however second placed Blackburn Rovers gave Norwich a 7-1 beating thanks in part to American International Roy Wegerle one of a handful of non-British player playing in the FA English Premier league. This was enough for Blackburn to go top by the end of October on goal difference alone, with Norwich on the same points total in second place. At the other end of the table Brian Clough's Nottingham Forrest sit bottom, signalling Clough's worst ever start to a football season.

The month of November signalled one of the most talked about transfers still to this day, Manchester United pulling off a shock transfer with the purchase from bitter FA Premier League football rivals Leeds United of Eric Cantona for £1.2 million. The significance of this transfer is shown as the season continued. Manchester United improving and moving out of the mid-table while Leeds United's form began to slump somewhat. Cantona would prove an excellent investment inspiring Man Utd on and off the field until his retirement at the end of the 1996-97 English Premier League season . Norwich City hit the high water mark of their time in the Premiership going 8 points clear of their nearest rivals at the beginning of December. The month of December would show the start of United's re-emergence with Cantona in the team. A busy Christmas period see man Utd win against Coventry City 5-0 to go second in the table. A worry for Norwich must have been that at the end of December they had a goal difference of zero, scoring 34 yet conceding 34, this football statistic highlighting the fact that Norwich's defence was perhaps not quite strong enough to mount a challenge for the Premier League .

While Man Utd and Norwich were battling for top, Aston Villa under former United manager Ron Atkinson where beginning to accumulate points. Wins over the likes of Liverpool Football Club , Middlesbrough and Sheffield United meant that by the end of January Aston Villa were sitting third on goal difference behind United, Welsh striker Dean Saunders netting regularly for Villa. At the other end of the table Oldham Athletic looked dead and buried in last place. Aston Villa's form meant that as the English FA Premier League entered the first months of spring they would go top. Indeed by the end of February they would have a 2 point lead over Norwich, a poor March though led to Villa slipping up winning 5 points only. Norwich regaining the lead with 13 points gained in comparison, throughout this period Manchester United show good consistency. At the beginning of April they beat Norwich 3-1 away. United's form is such that by the end of April they have a 4 point lead over Villa. Oldham Athletic picking up points throughout spring improved their position to third bottom of the FA Premier League .

Brian Clough's Nottingham Forrest by the end of April are bottom and almost certain to go down, sad times for the two time European Cup winners and sad times for Brain Clough who had led Forrest to this glory. Indeed in the end Forrest where relegated signalling Cloughs retirement. The other two teams to be relegated from this first FA Premier League season were Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace, Joe Royals Oldham Athletic making a brave escape. The three teams relegated would be replaced by Swindon Town, West Ham United and Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United who had been crowned 1992-1993 English Football League Division 1 champions. The first football champions of the English FA Premier League were indeed Manchester United who by the end of the season amassed a 10 point lead over Aston Villa with Norwich coming in third. This was a remarkable achievement for United, what had looked like a season of mid-table mediocrity at one point ended in glory, Alex Ferguson purchase of Eric Cantona being the significant factor in this.

An unusual football statistic was that the same two mid-table teams both took part in the two English Cup finals, Arsenal beating Sheffield Wednesday to the 1993 English FA Cup and the 1993 English League cup . ___________________________________________ For a review of betting websites online, explanations of football betting terms and betfair code offers , view our new football betting reviews page. ___________________________________________ List of Premier League Winners ( 1992 till date)| Soccer Blog|Football News, Reviews, Quizzes List of Premier League Winners ( 1992 till date) By Soccer Blog | Jun 27, 2011 Since the inception of the English Premier League in 1992, one team has dominated above all others, winning the trophy in a frankly ridiculous 13 of the 24 titles handed out since the re-branding of the old First Division. This team is, as you will already no doubt know, Manchester United. The Red Devils have dominated the Premier League era with an unnerving consistency but the Manchester giants have not had it all their own way.

There have been years when their dominance has been tested and even broken, making the Premier League a lot more than just a procession of trophies through the red half of Manchester. The first team to win the Premier League, other than Sir Alex Ferguson’s United side, were Blackburn Rovers in their pathbreaking 1994/95 season . With the help of Jack Walker’s millions and legendary manager Kenny Dalglish ( who manages Liverpool now) , Blackburn did the unthinkable and rose from Division One to win the Premier League title in just a few short years. With players as talented as Chris Sutton, Colin Hendry, Tim Sherwood and, of course, Alan Shearer they were worthy champions but unfortunately things unravelled from there with Blackburn suffering relegation just a few years later. After Blackburn, there was a gap of three years before another side lifted the Premier League title other than United when, led by the mercurial Dennis Bergkamp, and backed up by talents such as Patrick Vieira and Manu Petit, Arsenal won a famous double of league and FA Cup.

Arsenal also won the title in the 2001/02 season before making history by going the whole league season unbeaten two years later in one of the most memorable title campaigns ever. Arsenal are still consistently amongst the favourites for the Premier League now, but haven’t quite been able to replicate the success of earlier years. Making up the trio of Premier League challengers to Man United are Chelsea who, since the arrival of owner Roman Abramovich in 2003 have won three league titles. They picked up the trophy under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006 before winning their hat trick of titles under Carlo Ancelotti. Manchester City won their first ever Premiership title on May 13, 2012 when they scored twice in extra time against QPR to take the title in incredible circumstances. For all the fixtures and scores from the forthcoming 2016/17 edition of the Premier League, you can hop on to . List of Premier League Winners ( 1992 to date) 1992-93- Man Utd

Question: Which team won the first English Premiership in 1992/93?
Answer: Manchester United